OXiGENE PROVIDES CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE ON NEU-SENSAMIDE(TM)

     -Phase III NSCLC Protocol Amended to Focus on Squamous Cell Carcinoma-

     Boston, MA and Lund,  Sweden,  September 21, 1998 - OXiGENE,  Inc. (Nasdaq:
OXGN, SSE: OXGN), an international  biopharmaceutical  company,  today announced
clinical development plans for Neu-Sensamide(TM),  including an amendment of the
Company's  Phase III  clinical  trial  protocol  in  non-small  cell lung cancer
(NSCLC). Neu-Sensamide, a potential radiosensitizer for the treatment of cancer,
is currently undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe.

     The Phase  III  clinical  trial  was  designed  to study  the  efficacy  of
Neu-Sensamide in combination with radiation  therapy in patients with NSCLC. The
Company,  in cooperation  with its clinical  investigators,  has now amended the
Phase  III  protocol  to  reflect   findings   from  a  Phase  II/III  study  of
Sensamide(TM),  a prototype  compound.  This data showed that on an intention to
treat  basis,  there was no  difference  in survival or tumor  response  between
patients receiving  radiation alone and those receiving radiation and Sensamide.
However,   as   previously   reported,   investigators   identified   a  patient
sub-group--those with squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of lung cancer--for
whom Neu-Sensamide in combination with radiation is expected to have efficacy.

     Based on  these  findings,  future  patient  enrollment  in the  Phase  III
Neu-Sensamide trial will now target NSCLC patients with squamous cell carcinoma,
and the total number of patients enrolled in the trial will be expanded from 220
to 350 to accommodate this new focus. In addition,  due to the fact that today's
standard therapy in the U.S. for NSCLC combines radiation and chemotherapy,  the
Company  has decided not to  continue  recruiting  patients in the U.S.  for the
Phase III trial and to focus instead on the  Company's  ongoing Phase II studies
where radiation is combined with chemotherapy and Neu-Sensamide.

     Bjorn  Nordenvall,  Chairman,  President  and Chief  Executive  Officer  of
OXiGENE,  commented, "Our decision to focus our Neu-Sensamide Phase III trial on
the patient  sub-group that is expected to benefit most from this treatment will
put us in a better  position  to move the  clinical  development  of our product
forward."

     He continued, "In addition to the ongoing Phase III trial, we are advancing
three other Neu-Sensamide  clinical  trials--two Phase II trials in NSCLC, and a
Phase I trial in glioblastoma,  a highly malignant form of brain cancer. Our new
generation sensitizer, OXi-104, is progressing positively through our Phase I/II
clinical  trials,  in combination  with  chemotherapy  in patients with advanced
stage cancers."

     Clinical  investigators  will present  fully  analyzed  data from the Phase
II/III study of Sensamide at the European Society for Therapeutic  Radiology and
Oncology (ESTRO) meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland this week.

     OXiGENE is an international  biopharmaceutical company developing a diverse
portfolio of innovative products to combat cancer and other major diseases.  The
Company  currently  has  four  products  in  clinical   development,   including
Neu-Sensamide,  being tested as a radiosensitizer in Phase II and III studies in
patients with non-small cell lung cancer and in a Phase I study in patients with
glioblastoma; OXi-104 (declopramide), being tested as a chemosensitizer in Phase
I/II studies in patients with advanced stage cancers;  Cordycepin, which is in a
Phase I/II study in patients with TdT-positive  leukemia; and Combretastatin A-4
prodrug,  a tumor vascular  targeting agent expected to enter Phase I/II studies
in the second half of 1998.

     This press release contains  forward-looking  statements that involve risks
and uncertainties  that may cause the Company's actual results or outcomes to be
materially different from those anticipated and discussed in this press release.
Factors that may cause such a difference include,  but are not limited to, those
risks and uncertainties associated with the regulatory approval of the Company's
proprietary  drugs,  and other risks included in the Company's  Annual Report on
Form 10-K and in the Company's  other filings with the  Securities  and Exchange
Commission during the past 12 months.